perfect. Every language used by these dealers has its word meaning, "judged by the sun." Greek merchants, in New Testament times, advertised "sun-judged" cloth in all the market-places. (Text.)
Paul uses this practise as a figure of
speech in Phil. 1:10. To be "sincere
and without offense," means to be able
to pass severe tests like the sun test.
(3207)
The Chautauquan gives an account of Greek coins from which is taken the following extract:
In spite of the guarantee that might be
afforded by the mark of a state or a prince,
we find the Greeks applying certain tests to
determine the genuineness of the currency
offered to them. Plating was easily detected
by jabbing the suspected coin with some
sharp instrument. At other times the touch-*stone
was used. One which was known as
the "Lydian stone" was supposed to reveal a
proportion of foreign metal as small as a
barley corn in a stater. Another test, in
the case of silver, was to polish the coin,
and then breathe on it. If the moisture
quickly disappeared the metal was pure. Yet
another way to detect alloy was to heat the
coin, or coins, on red-hot iron. If the metal
was unalloyed it remained bright; if mixt
with other substances, it turned black or red
according as it was more or less impure. (Text.)
(3208)
See Ideas, Power of.
TESTS OF FITNESS
When the Rodah Bridge at Cairo was
practically finished as far as the structural
work itself was concerned, it was put to an
official test. The testing was minute, complex
and severe in character. Dead weights
of sand and steel rails were piled up on
each pier in succession, exerting a pressure
of 1,000 tons. Subsequently live weights of
steam-rollers, tramcars, loaded with sand
and water-carts filled with water were
run on the bridge while an immense pressure
was brought to bear on the bridge. If no
fault or strain was visible in the material,
then it was ready for use.
Happy is the man who will cheerfully
bear every burden he is called upon to
bear, knowing that he is being made
ready for usefulness.
(3209)
TESTS, PERSONAL
General Nelson A. Miles, when head of
the army, used to be continually besieged by
cranks with pneumatic rapid-firing guns,
dirigible war balloons, and other martial
inventions. But the general would weed
these cranks out with admirable speed. An
inventor, quoted in the New York Independent,
says:
"I sat in his office with him one day when a servant brought in a card. 'Oh, send him in,' said General Miles. 'His business won't take more than a minute or two.' So in came a wild-eyed, long-haired man, twisting his soft hat nervously in both hands. 'General,' he said, 'I have here'—and he took out a small parcel—'a bullet-proof army coat. If the Government would adopt this—' 'Put it on. Put it on,' said General Miles, and he rang the bell. The servant appeared as the inventor was getting into the coat. 'Jones,' said the general, 'tell the captain of the guard to order one of his men to load his rifle with ball and cartridge and—' 'Excuse me, general, I forgot something,' interrupted the inventor, and with a hunted look he disappeared."
(3210)
Text Finding—See Early Religion.
TEXT, POWER OF A
The effect which the Word of God sometimes has is illustrated in the following incident related of Robert Moffat, missionary in Africa:
In the large kitchen, where the service was
to be held, stood a long table, at the head of
which sat the Boer, with his wife and six
grown children. A large Bible lay on the
table, and underneath it half a dozen dogs.
The Boer pointed to the Bible as the signal
for Mr. Moffat to begin. But, after vainly
waiting for others to come in, he asked how
soon the working people were to be called.
"Work-people?" impatiently cried the
farmer; "you don't mean the Hottentots—the
blacks! You are not waiting for them,
surely, or expecting to preach to them; you
might as well preach to those dogs under
that table!" A second time, and more
angrily, he spoke, repeating the offensive
comparison.
Young as Mr. Moffat was, he was disconcerted only for a moment. Lifting his heart to God for guidance, the thought came into his mind to take a text suggested by the rude remarks of the Boer. So he opened the
